After years of planning, the University of Missouri is offering gender-neutral housing to students this coming fall.

Frankie Minor, director of Residential Life at MU, said returning students have access to the new option when they enroll for fall housing options as early as this week.

The space is open to students of any gender, with the goal of creating a safe, secure housing option for those students who are transgender or gender nonconforming, Minor said. The 2015-16 academic year will serve as a test for the 16-bed space in College Avenue Hall.

Minor and his team have pushed for gender-neutral housing for years after hearing from students that there is interest and need for such a space. He said it is coming to fruition after working through logistical issues, and it was made easier when the Board of Curators added gender expression and gender identity to the UM System�s nondiscrimination policy last year.

�When we say that this is important to our institutions, it�s great, but it makes it clear when we�re following through with programs and resources that promote inclusiveness and a welcoming environment,� Minor said.

Shane Stinson, an MU student and former volunteer with MU�s LGBTQ Resource Center, said he �absolutely� believes there is a need for this type of housing. In the past year, Stinson started his own gender transition with hormone shots. His story was covered in the Tribune in December 2013.

�The more we publicize this, the more it will bring in other students who will appreciate how inclusive this campus is,� Stinson said. �I am super excited about our university doing this. I think it�s a huge step in the right direction.�

MU is not unique in adding a gender-neutral housing option. Minor said about 150 universities nationwide have incorporated similar plans, including Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. One thing that sets MU apart is allowing incoming freshmen the option to select the space.

Minor said when student government passed resolutions in support of gender-neutral housing, they wanted it for all students. Unlike 20 years ago when on-campus housing was 60 to 65 percent freshmen, they now make up closer to 90 percent of the almost 7,000 students in residence halls, he said, so limiting that population would be significant.

�In the past, those students who are gender nonconforming are really starting to explore that in college because they have more freedoms being away from home for the first time,� Minor said. �But it�s happening younger and younger, as our country is understanding it and as these students are seeing more support networks.�

The 16-bed space takes up half of the first floor in College Avenue Hall. The housing will be either single rooms or double suites with a shared bathroom.

Interested students must sign agreements affirming they are understanding and open to having roommates, suitemates and floormates who are of a different gender or gender nonconforming.

�We�re not saying that all of our gender nonconforming/transgender students need to live in this housing,� Minor said. �But if they want to live in an environment where they won�t stand out but be welcomed and supported, this is the place for them.�

He said there is nothing preventing twins of two genders or a heterosexual couple from living together. The latter equalizes the fact that students in homosexual relationships have had the chance to live together for years in MU residence halls, Minor said. But the point of this housing option is to create a safe space for transgender students, which is stressed in the agreement students sign.

Of the 16 spaces, four will be reserved for freshmen, who sign up for housing in April. Minor said plans for expanding the housing option will depend on student demand.